REMINDER/CHALLENGE: On either NEXT Sunday (1/19) or the FOLLOWING Sunday (1/26), thousands of churches across the U.S.\will mark the 41st anniversary of the American Holocaust. It was on Jan. 22, 1973 that our Supreme Court legalized the murder of unborn children and we have collectively destroyed over 55 million lives! Call your pastor and ask in what way your church will recognize a Sanctity of Human Life Sunday this month. Let’s be sure to honor the Author of All Life and ask forgiveness for our country continuing to destroy its most innocent citizens
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
NEWS ALERT: Oct. 23: "Christians Fleeing IRAQ Area Once Considered Safe," - CBNNews.com, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Christians-Fleeing-Iraq-Area-Once-Considered-Safe/ PRAY that believers in Iraq will know God's protection and provision; that believers will know[ whether they are called to flee or remain and persevere; and that their persecutors may come to hear the gospel and come to faith in Christ. - Stan]
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"- CBNNews.com, Aug 14, 2013 http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/ - The United States is willing to engage North Korea to secure the release of imprisoned American Christian Kenneth Bae. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States is "willing to consider a number of different options" to bring him home.In a video recently released by a North Korean newspaper, Bae requested the United States send a high-ranking official to North Korea to seek his pardon. It is unclear if he spoke of his own volition in the video. Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for sharing his faith. He suffers health problems such as diabetes and is currently hospitalized.[PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.]
NEWS ALERT: Monday, November 04, 2013 - Saeed's Life in [Greater] Jeopardy After Prison Transfer - CBNNews.com, ; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/November/Saeeds-Life-in-Jeopardy-after-Prison-Transfer/ IRAN - Vigils Mark One Year Imprisonment of Pastor Saeed - CBNNews.com, Thursday, September 26, 2013 - Today marks one-year that American pastor Saeed Abedini has been held in an Iranian prison. He is serving an eight-year sentence because of his Christian faith. It has been a year of torment as he has suffered beatings, physical pain from untreated medical conditions, and separation from his wife and two children... The suffering has not dampened his passion for Jesus. Pastor Abedini has led more than 30 prisoners to Christ during his time in prison. This afternoon, thousands of Americans from coast to coast will pray for his release. Events will be held in 40 states at capitols, city halls, parks and churches. Thousands more will join from 15 nations around the world
PRAY: - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.\
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- BOLDly (Beside Our Leaders Daily) for leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------"New Study Means Large Number of Women Coerced, Pressured Into Abortions" - by Dr. Priscilla Coleman | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 1/13/14; http://www.lifenews.com/2014/01/13/new-study-means-large-number-of-women-coerced-pressured-into-abortions/
[AS I SEE IT:On my car, I have a bumper sticker that reads, " Real men do not pressure women to abort." I remember a time when I came out of a store and saw a man reading my bumper sticker in a most thoughtful way. If it made just him reconsider something he was guilty of, I like to think that one sticker may have helped save a Mom as well as her unborn child. - Stan]
In February 2011, Philadelphia resident Tiffany Gillespie, 24, was six-months pregnant with her 3rd child when she was allegedly shot to death by her boyfriend, Aaron Fitzpatrick. The killing apparently followed an argument wherein Fitzpatrick tried to convince her to have an abortion and she refused.
A paper published this week in PLOS Medicine, “Associations Between Intimate Partner Violence and Termination of Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” by Megan Hall and colleagues from King’s College in London is an extensive scientific review of the association between intimate partner violence and abortion, with great sensitivity to the complexities inherent in the published literature on the topic.
Key results are considered briefly below; however the review is so dense with noteworthy findings that interested readers are strongly encouraged to read the original report. (http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001581) Moreover, by highlighting the gaps and ambiguities in the literature, the authors offer a wealth of additional ideas for research on this large, highly vulnerable, and characteristically very sad segment of the female population.
Results
1) Intimate partner violence, including history of rape, sexual assault, contraception sabotage, and coerced decision-making, was associated with abortion. Unfortunately with the limited data available to the authors, it was not possible to ascertain the typical timing of exposure to violence relative to abortion. However, it is likely that various patterns exist, with violence both preceding and following abortion in many victims’ lives. Escalation of violence after the procedure is a strong possibility, particularly when partners are against the abortion. In a high quality study by Fisher and colleagues (2005) published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the authors reported that women presenting for a third abortion were over 2.5 times more likely to have a history of physical or sexual violence than women presenting for their first.
2) Women in violent relationships were more likely to have concealed their abortion from partners compared to women who were not victims of violence. Women likely believed they could not continue the pregnancy and were afraid of the abusive partner’s behavior if the abortion had been revealed. Many women in abusive relationships may feel they have to abort, because they are trying to free themselves from the relationship, they do not want to bring a child into a home with violence, and/or they do not believe they have the emotional energy to go through a pregnancy and raise a child, among other reasons. With sensitive, appropriate pre-abortion counseling, women in abusive relationships can be identified and safely assisted out of the violent, dangerous situation and helped to continue their pregnancies if desired. Without sensitive, substantive care, abortion is often perceived as the only option available.
3) Women welcomed the opportunity to disclose IPV Intimate Partner Violence] and to be offered help. Women who present at abortion clinics are often at a point where they are quite receptive to help, and if screening and intervention do not occur, countless women will continue their lives feeling trapped and afraid in a violent relationship.[This points out why so-called "buffer-zones" around abortion clinic do not in fact protect when seeking abortions but in fact prevent many from getting the help they really want. - Stan] If the abortion takes place, then there is a high probability that they will suffer psychological consequences as a result that further compound a life marked by significant suffering. Numerous studies from the peer-reviewed literature have documented the fact that women, who feel pressured by partners, abortion counselors, other people in their lives, and/or by life circumstances, are more likely to experience post-abortion mental health problems.
Conclusions: Strong conclusions are made by the authors: “Health-care professionals should be aware of the high rates of physical, sexual, and emotional violence among women seeking TOP (termination of pregnancy), and particularly the clinical factors associated with the greatest risk: previous TOP, lack of contraception, initially planned pregnancy, ultrasound re-dating, and the partner not funding or not being told about the TOP.” They further state: “Good practice obligates that termination services should have robust policies for ensuring women’s safety and confidentiality, providing information and referral pathways for those who disclose IPV, and exemplar guidance exists.”
This research report by Hall and colleagues is without a doubt the most extensive review of the literature on the topic of intimate partner violence and abortion. Nevertheless, the conclusions should be tempered by the limited high quality original research that has been conducted in vastly different cultural settings on the topic. To their credit, the authors went to great lengths to objectively evaluate the quality of each study summarized in the general narrative review. However, I’m not sure why they bothered to include those that were identified as being of very low quality.
Routine screening for intimate partner violence in general, and coercion to abort in particular, is far from the norm. Instead, abortion providers callously and routinely look the other way, even when women present with obvious symptoms of domestic violence. Since the majority of intimate partner homicides occur in the context of pre-existing physical abuse, identification and intervention with women at risk, particularly women seeking abortions, carries great potential to preserve women’s health and lives, while also empowering them to continue their pregnancies.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
LifeNews.com Note: Dr. Priscilla Coleman is a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University.
"25% of Women Getting Abortions Faced Physical, Sexual or Emotional Abuse Beforehand" - by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 1/8/14; http://www.lifenews.com/2014/01/08/25-of-women-getting-abortions-faced-physical-sexual-or-emotional-abuse-beforehand/
No comments:
Post a Comment